TOKYO, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Embattled Kobe Steel Ltd said on Friday a lack of controls and a focus on profits was behind the widespread data falsification that has shaken supply chains around the world.

Japan’s third-largest steelmaker identified the factors behind the cheating in a report after the government ordered an internal investigation into the causes of one of Japan’s biggest corporate scandals.

The company admitted last month that workers had tampered with product specifications for at least a decade, causing global automakers, aircraft manufacturers and other companies to check whether the safety or performance of their products had been compromised. (Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Writing by Aaron Sheldrick; Editing by)